Tuesday, 31 January 2012

let’s face it. For every 10 glamorous red
carpet moments we see, there’s always a faux pas or
jaw-dropping look that makes us scratch our heads and confuses us to no
end. This past weekend at the NRJ Awards at the Palais
des Festivals et des Congres in Paris R&B singer Shy’m
was the red carpet culprit.

The songstress arrived rocking a
transparent-like corset that looked like she was created in a factory,
paired with a long toga-esque skirt showing off her legs. Oh,
and there were feathers stuffed behind the plastic. My skin is itching
looking at it.

I won’t beat around the bush. I don’t like it. This
ensemble is not suitable for the red carpet…or life for that matter.

Although I think she should have a long
talk with her stylist, Shy’m won the award for Francophone
Female Artist of the Year. A shame she had to accept it
wearing that.

what do you think of Shy’m's see-through, feathery,
Grecian look? Is it as hideous as I think or am I losing my stylish
mind? Discuss!

Costume designer, graphic designer, and artistic genius Eiko Ishioka, who won an Oscar for her costume design for Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1992, passed away on Jan 21 of pancreatic cancer. Ishioka enjoyed international renown for her work in costume design and was recognized as one of the most prolific art directors and graphic designers in her native Japan. Most recently, she worked on the costumes for Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and frequent collaborator Tarsem Singh‘s Snow White retelling, Mirror, Mirror. Come inside and see what this woman created throughout her career, and why her very creative touch is going to be sorely missed. Born in Toyko, Japan in 1939, Ishioka graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music before starting her multi-faceted career. She first made waves creating promotional art for the Japanese department store Parco in 1973, including a 15-second commercial featuring “a tall, thin black woman, dressed in a black bikini, dancing with a very small man in a Santa Claus outfit” and her final one, which featured Faye Dunaway (eating an egg).
Despite her prolific career designing costumes, that wasn’t how she started out, and she always worked in a variety of fields. In 1983, her work in art direction and graphic design was showcased in the book Eiko by Eiko. And just two years later, she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Artistic Contribution as the production designer on Paul Schrader‘s Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. Two years after that, in 1987, she won a Grammy for the artwork in Miles Davis‘ album, Tutu. Then, in 1988, she was nominated for two Tony awards for costume and stage design for M. Butterfly on Broadway. Her Oscar for costume design in 1992 made her just one award short of EGOT status, though we think she still did pretty well for herself.
Ishioka found a niche in film, and worked with director Tarsem Singh on all of his films. Here is an example of her work from Singh’s feature debut, The Cell, which starred Jennifer Lopez:

She also worked on last year’s Immortals. Here is Julia Roberts as the Wicked Queen in Mirror, Mirror, wearing one of Ishioka’s creations:

And here is just one of the costumes for which she won her Oscar, Mina’s dress in Dracula:

Ishioka also directed a music video for Bjork (Cocoon) she designed costumes for Grace Jones in 2008.

Lastly, she was responsible for designing costumes for (formerly) Julie Taymor‘s Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

Now that Oscar Time is officially in full swing,(26th Feb 2012) it’s always a good idea to recognize the work of people who don’t always appear on camera and work in the areas of film that don’t get a whole lot of publicity in the mainstream press. After looking at these pictures and seeing what Eiko Ishioka was capable of creating and then putting on a human being, it is clear that we have lost a real visionary.
(via The Hollywood Reporter, additional information found on Wikipedia)

Monday, 30 January 2012

SIM.O.W.N.: The name SIM.O.W.N is an acronym for SIMon Obinna Womi Nwachuya .
Born in the Late quarter of the 80's to start a family of 7 with mixed background in Cross River State , SIM.O.W.N has a degree in Statistics from the Prestigious Enugu State University..speaks 4 languages and grew up when every parent wanted their First Son to become either a Medical Doctor , Lawyer or Engineer and opting for a self directed wasn't an easy task growing up. Fashion came as an inner calling that grew and materialized sometime in 2008 into the SIM.O.W.N Brand.
The SIM.O.W.N Brand has been showcased in different fashion gatherings ranging from the Nigeria Campus Fashion show 2010, Fashion Rave Ghana , The Niger Delta Fashion Show 2010, opened the 911 2nd Anniversary in Warri amongst others.
See some of his collections:

The futuristic Menswear brand is guided and can be best described in three words "Comfort , style and class SIM.O.W.N is the CEO of the SIM.O.W.N. INTIJAZ brand and also the Brain behind the renowned online Modeling Agency BLaqpodmodels Int.

Award season saw another glamorous night with the Screen Actors Guild Awards in LA yesterday 29th Jan.2012. The red carpet has so far drawn a celeb-studded crowd, with presenters, nominee and attendees showing off their designer gowns and standout makeup looks. Hot couples Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Stacy Kiebler hit the red carpet and My Week With Marilyn. It took LA by storm and totally erased the much talked GoldenGlobeAwards events from my mind. Stars from both the big and small screens brought even more great looks with plenty of ladies stepping out in neutrals.
The buzz of the night started with Viola Davies breath-taking gown, then Rose Bryne stunned with her jumpsuit in a white lace version. From Elie Saab's Fall 2009 Couture Collection,the onesie featured little cap sleeves,a plunging necklace and wide-legged pants! was it really an appropriate outfit for a red carpet event? i leave that to you fashionistas to answer.
Don't want to bore you with my talks cos i have a whole lot to talk about. We should just feed our eyes on some of the ways to have a celebrity look and red carpet perfect outfits and don't forget to leave your comments,your opinions means a lot to me ;) mwuaaah! Enjoy the view and the rest of the week. xoxo

Presenter Zoe Saldana glowed in a white Givenchy Couture gown straight from the Paris runways while Bridesmaids' Kristen Wiig chose a Balenciaga halter. Viola Davies got gorgeous in a strapless Marchesa and her winning costar Octavia Spencer donned Tadashi Shoji. The Good Wife's Julianna Margulies wore a custom beaded Clavin Klein Collection as she arrived on the arm of her husband Keith Lieberthal. I love their gowns <3

There were a few fun pops of color at the event, including a group that matched the carpet in red. Best actress nominee Michelle Williams looked sweet in a lace Valentino gown and lanvin clutch and Kyra Sedgwick showed skin in a cutout Pucci that displayed her rib tattoo of her family's initials. Modern Family's Sofia Vergara continued her sexy streak in a strapless pink Marchesa dress and Lorraine Schwartz jewels, which were front and center when she took the stage with her costars to accept the best TV comedy ensemble statue. Emily Blunt got bright in a green Oscar de la Renta gown piece and The Help's Jessica Chastain went with a bold blue Calvin Klein. Yea, i love blue :D

Angelina Jolie led the pack of black looks in a slinky Jenny Packham gown and Ashlee Simpson followed suit in a sequin number by the same designer. Emma Stone mixed things up with a short McQueen and 30 Rock's Tina Fey went strapless in Versace. Melissa McCarthy joined the dark-hued dresses in navy Badgley Mischka. There was so much exciting fashion and beauty on the red carpet

Though, it would have been competitive for the men above. Hard to tell from photos, exactly, but they all swapped out the traditional black tux game for varying shades of midnight blue — a color that, supposedly, takes better to harsh camera light better than traditional black. Surely, Josh Brolin and Jim Parsons were noticed by their peers in their not-black Ermenegildo Zegna black-tie, as well as Armie Hammer in his midnight Gucci suit, and some blonde kid from Glee who successfully dressed in blue Giorgio Armani ;)

GBAM! Thats all for SAG 2012...catch you guys soon and don't forget to comment on my posts,i really want to know your opinions about this blog. Thanks for reading,now let me leave you with my best dress on the red carpet last night from Sofia Vergara ;)

Sofia Vergara went with another strapless gown for last night's SAG Awards in LA. She wore a hot-pink number from Marchesa for the event, after wearing a similar blue Vera Wang to the Golden Globes see: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o6dYvgHn8d8/TxVONWQDsiI/AAAAAAAAAR0/t5Oeva_FKqg/s1600/sofia-vergara-golden-globes.jpg. Sofia was nominated in the category of outstanding performance by an actress in a comedy series....don't you just love her dress??? <3

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Its been a while now i met Mike, i told him i wanted to feature him on my blog lol, he referred me to Google *rme*...Anyway sha now that he has my time lets meet Mike officially Michael Chibogu is the chief executive officer of ‘Thots on Tees'. Established in 2010, delivered its first set of orders on Feb 14th 2010.‘Thots on Tees' is a branding and fashion line that customized inscriptions on T-shirts. A University of Ibadan drop out, Chibogu voices his thoughts on his tees. His label allows people wear their thoughts on their t-shirts leading to the creation of some truly hilarious pieces! Big Brother Africa season 5 winner, Uti Nwachukwu has been spotted in quite a number of his T-shirts. They have also been spotted on some of the housemates in the current season. Especially popular are the 'Team Orobo' one worn by Bernadina ,and 'Naija no dey carry last' worn by Vina. They also produce branded polos and tees for corporate bodies, as well as group tees for events. When i asked the secret of his popularity, he always replies with his signature 'No be God' and also attributes it to strategic marketing gimmicks.ThotsOnTees will be exhibiting the mahdest T-Shirts @Fusion Events.

Tuesday, 24 January 2012

I was so livid when i saw this outfit, because the fashion scene is already bidding farewell to the low-rise trend. I actually heaved a sigh of relief when a new bill was signed in the National Assembly recently on low rise jeans. But what we don’t understand is the motive behind this style. Why would you deliberately open your booth for every Tom, Dick and Harry to peek through?
This is one of the things you should consider if you are thinking of marrying a club girl...smh

Saturday, 21 January 2012

Pretty much everywhere you go, you see printed tees! They’re all over the streets esp. Lagos, gracing us with their presence. Printed tees are not only a fashion statement, but they’re also a way of expressing yourself. They come in a huge selection of different colors, different prints, sayings, and different looks.
They look extremely cute with a pair of jeans, capris, or even a jean miniskirt. Tees with words and sayings are the most popular, just make sure you don’t get carried away with all of the crazy sayings as the saying basically reflect your personality.
Printed tees also come in different colors, and they’re very cheap to buy. You can find almost any tee you want with any kind of symbol, saying, or picture on it, so go crazy and let your personality show!

Thursday, 19 January 2012

Its all about prints! Printed tees, dresses, skirts, and even printed bags. But what’s a girl to do with so many choices and so many prints? If you’ve been to any store or mall in the past festive period, you’ve probably noticed a TON of printed items, but which should you pick up, and when you do, how do you wear these prints properly?
Here are a few thumb rules when wearing prints that you should really stick to:

1. ONE PRINT AT A TIME: Wear one print at a time. Prints stand out a lot, so it’s best to keep the rest of your look simple. If you decide to go for a printed tee, keep your bottoms to one color… preferably a color that is already in the print. See the picture below;

2.START WITH ACCESSORIES: Start with accessories and work your way up! A good place to start experimenting with prints is with bags,and shoes. An animal print shoe is a sure way to make your whole outfit stand out.

3. ANIMAL PRINTS: When wearing animal prints, it’s always best to stick to black for the rest of the outfit. So if you’re wearing an animal print dress, stick to black shoes and a black bag.

4. FITTED AFRICAN PRINTS: Opt for fitted prints! Fabrics that are closer to the body, especially in African prints, if you have petite body you will look a lot more put together rather than bigger, billowy prints which could actually make you larger than you are.

5. SMALL PRINTS ARE THE BEST: Big prints make you look bigger and if you’ve already got a fuller figure, I advise you to stay away from there! Instead, opt for smaller prints which will be much more forgiving!

6. KEEP IT CLASSY: This should come as no surprise, but please don’t wear more than one print at once. Don’t combine an animal print top with a tribal print skirt – it will look trashy rather than classy. So just pick one print and leave the rest simple just like this ;)

Hello!

Crantz Couture is a blog about global fashion from a Nigerian/African point of view. It's also a medium for me to vent and blab about a lot of things you might (or may not) find random. My full names are Doherty Bolanle Rosencrantz, (call me Crantz). I'm also a fashion designer, the name'Crantz Couture' is from my clothing line..this Blog serves to satisfy all your fashion and style cravings and if you feel like it isn't doing that.Got a general question Email me at Crantzblog@gmail.com